Simpler, smaller games live or die on the strength of their central gimmick, an idea to grab hold of the player and force them to pay attention. Sadly, Antonball Deluxe's grand design doesn't quite live up to its WarioWare-esque presentation.
So what’s the deal? You’ve got a pretty strong central idea in Antonball; think Arkanoid, but with you controlling a little platforming character instead of a bat. That’s a fun concept, we think, but in execution we found it singularly frustrating. Both the ball and Anton himself seem just too small, with too much scope to, well, miss. Yes, get good, we hear you, but in practice the most efficient way to “get good” is to simply find a spot from which the ball will always be reachable on its return trips, then effectively just stand there, dropping down or leaping up to hit the ball when it travels either low or high. It’s less than thrilling.
The tragedy is that it really should be good fun; there are no other weak elements here, really. Visually it's perfectly clear and crisp, music and sound effects are a bop and the controls are responsive. It's just that the gameplay here isn't particularly fun. It's also tainted by some odd decisions - you have a Wario-esque dash/ram attack, but it only works on the ball rather than the enemies who drop onto the field, which is shockingly unintuitive. You can get a gun, which helps you mop up the last few bricks - but it's such a poxy thing that even blasting away isn't enjoyable.
However! Antonball Deluxe has an ace up its sleeve, which is its multiplayer capability. And we mean that quite vociferously, because in multiplayer this game is rather enjoyable. It's also ridiculously easy if you're able to basically cover the whole screen, but this feels like the way Antonball should be played and it's worth strongly considering if you're looking for a new couch co-op title to enjoy. There's also Vs. Antonball, a variant that sees two teams trying to break through each other's bricks on either side of the screen, but we found this a touch too manic to be worth more than a handful of games.
We can't fault the presentation, here, as there's plenty to see and do. On top of copious unlockable characters and stages (via a Smash Bros. Melee-esque lottery), we haven't even mentioned the other included game, Punchball. This is essentially Nintendo's original Mario Bros. (as popularised by Super Mario Bros. 3's battle games or packed in with every single Super Mario Advance title), except you throw a ball at enemies to knock them down instead of hitting the bricks they're walking on. It's about as enjoyable as Mario Bros. is, which is to say... well... there's a reason the plumber went Super.
Antonball Deluxe is, overall, a tricky game to review. As a solo game it's an easy pass, but on multiplayer we can see it clicking with the right group. It didn't set our world alight, but its simple charms may just work for you and your mates.
Comments 19
Giving a game with Fixed Gold Evil Baby Paul (Shiny) anything other than a 10? shm
Jokes aside, I think this is the case of a game being assigned the wrong reviewer. Once you put aside the memey humour and Wario aesthetic influence, this game is made fans of 80s arcade games first and foremost. If you grew up on Namco Museum, the (older games on) Virtual Console, or in the pre-crash 80s you'll adore this, but if you're looking for a proper Wario-like platforming experience it's best to wait for Pizza Tower.
I'm a single player guy and this has been one of the best purchases I've made in years because I'm in the extremely niche target audience - I grew up on Dig Dug; DK Jr.; and Mappy thanks to rereleases so I know how 80s arcade games work on the simplest level, (the shoulder bash not being an offensive tool is typical of the era, and wouldn't work if modernised into an enemy-disposal move because it'd just erase both the point of enemies as stage-narrowing hazards and the risk-reward nature of the shoulder bash, increasing mobility but also ball speed) discrediting Punch Ball mode with "there's a reason Mario went Super" frankly shows the lack of knowledge this reviewer has for the game's very intention and the individual merits of both, the original Mario Bros. detached from later releases, and single player score attack games in the modern age as a whole.
First comment couldn't have said it better. I have come to be confused by some of this websites reviews lately, some seem to completely miss the point of games and rush out a review within minutes of playing. Deltarune chapter 2 was somehow "Repetitive and same-ey", yet Pokemon Sword and Shield got a 9/10. You can be a huge sword and shield fan and even then see how weird this websites reviews can be.
@PBandSmelly Pokémon Sword & Shield got an 8.
It's funny when people in the comments claim to make judgments about the character of the reviewer when they know nothing about them. If you were aware of the one who wrote this you'd understand that they have more than enough appreciation and experience with these kinds of games. The idea that only a reviewer who will give the game a good score should be allowed to review a game is just ridiculous. If that were the case, reviews in all their entirety would become far less useful than they are now. What an asinine take.
@PBandSmelly couldn’t have put it better myself, this site has always been super all over the place in terms of their reviews, the only reason I’m in here in the first place is because Gonintendo hasn’t relaunched yet
@SnowTachi You're right and you should say it.
Reviews aren't a universal truth. Nor should they be. If reviews were truly oBjEcTiVe, the review would just be "this is video game for the Nintendo Switch console. in the game, pressing buttons will cause a character to perform an action."
If someone wants a review that upholds their confirmation bias, well, there are other review sites out there that can provide a second opinion.
I’ve played with Anton’s balls before and really enjoyed my time. Wait…
Haha, yeah, I totally agree. Speaking of reviews, did I miss the diablo II resurrected review?
seems like Gipp can't make a review without being labelled a firestarter or not knowing what they're talking about, which is undeserved (especially considering the review ends with "IT DIDNT WORK WITH US BUT IT MIGHT FOR YOU")
@PhhhCough I’m gonna assume that the three sites as a whole decided to just not cover Blizzard at all. There’s been zero coverage at all on any of them.
@nessisonett well, that's a disservice to vicarious visions who did a majority of the development. But understandable cause of the whole blizzard debacle.
@Noid This comment is better than the review itself!
Kind of has a Bubble Pirate aesthetic with Mario Bros gameplay feel to it. May just pick this one up.
That GBA pixel grid overlay looks nice it’s pretty common in Retroarch, good alternative to scan lines for making pixelart sharper and less chunky.
No news today?🙁
@Noid your comment somehow shows one of many major weaknesses of this rating system.
If you would have to review a great bullethell shooter for the mainstream masses, you could either give it a 9 to make the mainstream curious but also make many purchase it and hate you for that... or give it a 6 as a 6 could either mean its just not so good or that it might resonate with certain audiences.
I'm not sure whats better. I guess if its a page that tries to deliver quality reviews with smart reviewers, attracting smart audiences, then just having a reviewer who's fond of this certain genre and let him give his 9/10 if he loves that niche game and just assume that faithful readers might understand that a review of this certain reviewer might be slightly different tha from the reviewer who only plays FPS. But I can't blame them for not having this certain reviewer or not willing to go down that path. I would expect it from a page like Kotaku as its more targeting geek culture and so on tho
@valcoholic The topic of a reviewer’s personal taste is an interesting subject for discussion. And it’s relevant for all review mediums really. We can ask the question “do we risk ‘over praise’ by having a reviewer cover a game that’s in a genre they’re huge fans of?” On the other side of that same coin they may also be tougher on the game because they’re so knowledgeable of that genre. Then on the opposite spectrum you may have someone who does not like a genre (or be ignorant to what’s appealing about it) that bombs a review for a decent to good game because they “don’t get it”.
Personally I like someone familiar with a genre to review a game because they can do comparisons to other games that came before. It may help a reader grasp what the new game is going for.
@AG_Awesome Yeah I wouldn't even say its about opinion but more about the expertise. A guy who's just really experienced with certain genres and subgenres will automatically be more competent. Of course with a game like this one, it might not have been so clear that they would need to get the old wise arcadeguy out of their cave.
I personally just like to read a review from someone where I initially understand how to read it. If an expert of a certain genre tells me that a game sucks, its of course different to a very mainstramy reviewer saying the same thing.
@Noid @PBandSmelly Thanks for the comments.
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